Kent State’s lacrosse team lost its final home game of the season to Central Michigan, 15-9, on Saturday. This sets the team’s conference record at 2-4 and overall record at 7-9.

“Especially MAC games, there’s a lot of pressure on them,” coach Brianne Tierney said. “That pressure has become kind of overwhelming, and so unfortunately, we haven’t been able to play as loose or have as much fun as we do at practice every day.”

Senior midfielder Zayda Crumpton and Junior attacker Morgan Halli scored all of the Flashes’ goals, with Crumpton scoring three and Halli scoring six. 

Crumpton struck first early in the first quarter, but CMU quickly responded with a pair of back-to-back goals. Halli went on to score four goals before the end of the first quarter, which tied the game at five going into the second. 

Crumpton scored KSU’s only goal in the second quarter, and Halli scored KSU’s only goal in the third quarter. Each scored one in the fourth quarter, making the final score 15-9. 

“Their mentality has been nothing but positive and high energy, and love for the sport, love for each other, all those things all year,” Tierney said. “It’s hard to see it not paying off in the wins and losses column, but it’s paid off in so many other ways. They’re a great group, and I’m gonna miss this team in particular, like altogether, especially the seniors.”

Key Stats

Crumpton is still leading the Flashes with 32 (+3) goals. Just below her is Halli with 27 (+6). 

With just a few games left in the season, Crumpton is still leading the team in assists (15), points (50) (+3), shots (127) (+10), shots on goal (76) (+4) and draw controls (43). Second in assists are Halli and senior attacker Lizzie Lundeen, with nine each. Second in points is Halli with 42 (+7). 

Sophomore defender Anna Zucconi leads the team in ground balls with 42 (+1), and senior midfielder Meghan Haddow is behind her with 33 (+1). 

Davis is leading goalkeeping with 160 (+10) saves and a save percentage of .500. 

What’s Next 

The Flashes will play their final game of the season against the UMass Minutemen on April 25 at 12 p.m. in Massachusetts. 

“My hope would be to play our last game the way we’ve played in practice all year,” Tierney said. “And play really loose and fluid, and confident, and do all the great things we do in practice against UMass on Saturday”

Audrey McCarthy is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].